David Gray: 'Time away made me creative'

David Gray has revealed that taking time away from the spotlight made him feel more creative.

The 'Babylon' singer told The AP that shunning publicity and not having a record deal allowed him to be more prolific while recording new music.

"I didn't have a record contract," Gray said. "I had no-one telling me to stop, so once the music began to flow... I felt like it gave me a completely new lease of life. I got into a very creative mode.''

The musician is now planning to release a second album of new material in less than a year.

"At a certain point I looked at all this sort of sprawling massive material and decided there was two separate projects," he added. "Suddenly it looks like I'm just knocking records out as if it's easy, but they were both recorded and conceived within the same timeframe."

The star acknowledged that his latest material marks a change from the more introspective nature of his early hits.

"The sound of the new band had a different, slightly almost tougher presence to it. It allowed me, enabled me, to write a different kind of song, something I've been bursting to write - so more panoramic, politicised, an uncomfortable word, but more political kind of rant kind of songs."